Thanks to all of you who offered me birthday wishes this week. Very kind. Truly encouraging. Thanks again. Suzy Keith, a longtime member of the Shiloh Church church, passed away this week. She was 96-years-old. Her service, kindness, and faithfulness will long be remembered. Pray for my Pops, Dr. John A. Reed, Jr., his family, and the Fairview Baptist Church of Oklahoma City. This week, Pastor Reed's wife of 52 years, Patricia Reed, transitioned from earth to glory. My friend, Joe A. Carter, who serves the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, was to be our guest speaker this week....

It was a long, busy, and wonderful weekend of ministry. Friday evening, I had the privilege of speaking at the Jacksonville Pastors’ Conference hosted by Dr. Mac Brunson and the First Baptist Church. It was a privilege and an honor. Dr. Brunson has been a friend to me since I arrived in Jacksonville. And the Lord is doing a great work at First Baptist. Ligon Duncan’s conference message on 1 Kings 19 Thursday evening was stellar. I needed that message more than I can say. The combined choirs of the Shiloh Church and the First Baptist Church sang together before...

Shout-out to the members of the Shiloh Church for your participation in our 2014 Prayer Emphasis Week. It happens after prayer! January 19 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. I hope to see this coming week at the Jacksonville Pastors' Conference at the First Baptist Church, led by Dr. Mac Brunson. Ray Pritchard: 20 Sermons for Sanctity of Human Life Sunday Tony Merida: 9 Benefits of Expository Preaching Jared C. Wilson: In Praise of Fat Pastors Thom Rainer: 11 Things I Learned from Pastors' Wives Ed Stetzer: 5 Ways to Teach Your Children to Hate the Ministry John: Money: An...

This has been Prayer Emphasis Week at the Shiloh Church. Our simple goal is to begin our year in prayer, submitting to God's will and depending upon power. And it has been a great week! In past years, we have prepared prayer guides with specific targets to pray for each day. And we had a daily prayer meeting at noon to pray together. But we have done something different this year. On Sunday, members wrote prayer requests on cards and brought them to the steps around our pulpit. And we left them there, asking members to come throughout the week...

For many years, I served a church in the shadows of many so-called "megachurches" in my city. This was not a thing for me. I believed my congregation was, pound-for-pound, just as strong and healthy and fruitful as these larger congregations. But there were times when I felt the pressure to measure up to other congregations. This pressure was self-inflicted. At points, I foolishly accepted the deception that numbers, prominence, and apparent success were the signs of God's blessings on a church or ministry. They are not. During one of these periods, I discovered a truth that set me free:...

January 12-19 is Prayer Emphasis Week at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. We start the year in believing prayer for one another, our congregation, and our city. Between our two services, I taught a lesson entitled, “Pray for One Another,” about the importance of intercessory prayer. I intend to teach, “Pray for the Lost,” next Sunday. Shout-out to our new media team members for your service this weekend. Great job! We had a lot of guests in worship. Very encouraging. Praise God for the one who was baptized! The choir did a prayer medley before I preached that was fantastic....

January 12-19 is Prayer Emphasis Week at the Shiloh Church. Please join us as we begin the new year by giving ourselves and our needs to the Lord in believing prayer. A big shout-out to the brothers at the Reformed African American Network for the opportunity to do their Pass the Mic Interview Podcast. Check out the guest post written by Cameron Triggs, the Pastor of Students at the Shiloh Church: 5 Ways Christian Hip Hop Can Help Serve the Church The Jacksonville Pastors' Conference is just a couple of weeks away. You don't want to miss it! I will...

The following is a guest post by Cameron Triggs, Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, FL. He blogs at camtriggs.com.   “I’ve been thrown out some of the best churches in America.” Guess who said that? No, it was not Lecrae, Da’ Truth, Trip Lee or some other “rambunctious” rap artist. Actually, the man who uttered these words has also written monumental songs that can be found in those weird little red books called “Hymnals”. Need another hint? OK, he wrote a little song called “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”.  Are you...

The first Sunday of 2014 was a blessed day of worship at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church! We started new worship times – 7:45 and 10:30 AM. The congregation handled it well the first week. I trust the schedule change will give our Bible Study Fellowship leaders the time they need and give me time to preach the 1st service without rushing. It was good to have our guests in worship with us. Always encouraging. Our new Pastor of Worship – Joe Pace – led worship for the first time. It was great! I am looking forward to ministering with...

Happy New Year! Saturday Shout-Outs is my weekly bulletin board of things worth noting and reading. Thanks for reading. Check out the new blog by the Pastor of Youth & Young Adults at the Shiloh Church: Cameron Triggs. Daily Record: Bishop Rudolph McKissick retiring after 47 years at Bethel Baptist  Hope to see you at the Jacksonville Pastors' Conference. NYTimes.com: Evangelicals Find Themselves in the Midst of a Calvinist Revival  Justin Taylor: How to Read the Whole Bible in 2014 R. Albert Mohler: Some Thoughts on the Reading of Books Phillip Jensen: Don't Teach the Bible Jared C. Wilson: Milestones...

Merry Christmas! A big shout-out to my wife, Crystal, who celebrated her birthday this week. Happy Birthday, Sunshine! A big shout-out to the Music & Arts Department of at the Shiloh Church for a wonderful Christmas Concert this week! You make it happen! Thanks to Kathy Taylor for leading us in musical praise during the our Christmas Concert! Please join us for the Jacksonville Pastor's Conference 2014. Ray Pritchard: 48 Messages Celebrating our Savior's Birth  Colin Hansen: My Top 10 Theology Stories of 2013 Darryl Dash: 7 Reasons to Preach God-Centered Sermons Justin Lathrop: How To Become An Indispensable Staff...

I am a  pack rat. My church staff is trying to go paperless. I just bought a new file cabinet to make room for all the various files I keep. Some are decades old. Not long ago, I found a filed article entitled, “What’s Really Going On?” I won’t mention the name of the author. And you wouldn’t know her if I did. But this article helped save my ministry. It was the early 1990s. And I was getting beat up pretty bad in a church fight. Actually, it wasn’t a fight – it takes two to fight. It was...